I’ve been perusing Hallie’s new gluten-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free cookbook, The Pure Kitchen, for a while. That’s what I do when I get a new cookbook I really like – I sit down and read it, think about the recipes and the author’s cooking style, and then after I’ve spent some time with it I start cooking.
I’m sure you’ve seen Hallie’s recipes before – she’s the author of Daily Bites and has guest posted here more than once.
The introduction of The Pure Kitchen talks about ways to transition to a whole foods diet and how to, as Hallie says, ‘clear the clutter from your kitchen.’ Her recipes include everything from breakfast to dessert. Being a baker at heart, I scoped out all her baking recipes and I like how she thinks. Hallie uses some of my favorite nutrient dense flours. Her recipes are easy to follow, too.
Since the holidays are upon us, I decided to share her Maple Pecan Tart. Knowing that teff flour can have a little crunch depending on how it’s used, I was curious to see how her crust turned out. And, it’s been quite some time since I’ve had anything that resembles a pecan pie (one of my favorites!) so I couldn’t resist.
Her recipe is genius. It’s not cloyingly sweet like a traditional pecan pie. Instead, the filling and the crust bake together so it’s a little cake-like. It has just a hint of cinnamon and a nice crunch from the pecan topping. The teff flour is tender – no crunch at all. And, when you eat dessert you’re getting iron, calcium, and vitamin C.
So, I love this tart. What about Joe? He doesn’t like pecan pie. Not at all. In fact, that’s why I’ve never tried making one. I didn’t want a big ‘ol pie sitting around with no one to eat it. (Well, no one except me…)
He enjoyed this tart every bit as much as I did. I was thrilled, especially because I know it has some nutritional value.
Hallie said this tart makes a yearly appearance on her holiday table. I think it just might make a yearly appearance at our holiday table, too.
Make sure to put the The Pure Kitchen on your must-have list – it’s one of those books you’ll love having on your bookshelf.
A perfectly balanced gluten-free pecan tart perfect for the holidays or any time of year. Reprinted from The Pure Kitchen by Hallie Klecker with permission from the author.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (102 grams) teff flour
- 1/2 cup (54 grams) arrowroot starch
- 1/2 cup raw pecans
- 1 tablespoon coconut palm sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil, room temperature (not melted)
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 cup raw pecans
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg whites
- 1/2 cup dark maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Make the crust: in a food processor fitted with a steel blade combine the teff flour, arrowroot starch, pecans, coconut sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Process until the pecans are finely ground.
- Add the coconut oil and process until the mixture looks like damp sand. Add the water and process until incorporated into the dry ingredients and the mixture holds together with two fingers, 20 - 30 seconds.
- Press the dough firmly and evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Place the tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 10 - 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool the crust for at least 15 minutes before filling.
- While the crust cools, finely chop 1/4 of the pecans. Whisk the chopped pecans with the eggs, egg whites, maple syrup, coconut sugar, vinegar, vanilla, and salt in a medium mixing bowl until thoroughly combined.
- Pour the filling into the tart shell. Scatter the remaining 3/4 cup pecans over the top of the filling.
- Bake the tart for 23 - 25 minutes, until the filling is puffed and golden brown. Cool in the pan before serving.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Nancy Bennett
posted on December 21, 2011 at 11:18 am
This sounds wonderful, can’t wait to try it
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Alisa
posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:06 pm
This looks AMAZING! I love Hallie’s new cookbook, it’s definitely a gem.
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Jennifer
posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:37 pm
This looks and sounds divine! We live in Quebec, so we always have plenty of maple syrup sitting around just begging to be devoured.
My 3-year-old son had severe eczema until he was diagnosed with food allergies a few months back. I have a blog that shares our family’s battles with eczema, allergies, and asthma (yes, lucky guy has that too).
I think the key is to learn from one another, so the more information out there to the masses, the better. With this in mind I’ve started a blog hop for anyone dealing with allergies, eczema, or asthma, either for themselves or as a caregiver. If you’re interested in joining, please add a comment. I’d love to welcome you to the group. http://itchylittleworld.wordpress.com/blog-hop/
Thanks.
Jennifer
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Michelle @ The Willing Cook
posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:39 pm
This looks great! Pecan Pie is one of my favorite desserts. While I don’t have any food intolerances, my husband and son do. I wonder if I could use an egg substitute? It’s interesting that there is no oil/butter in the filling. I may give this a try soon without egg. We shall see….Thanks for sharing!
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InTolerant Chef
posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:37 pm
This is a very lovely recipe, the crust is lovely with the addition of nuts in it too, yummo!
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Maggie
posted on December 21, 2011 at 5:53 pm
Yum! This looks beautiful. Tarts always do, don’t they? Hallie’s way of cooking and baking is amazing. She’s a gifted girl, that’s for sure.
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Hannah
posted on December 31, 2011 at 6:19 pm
Oh my oh my! This looks beyond-words incredible! I waaaant
Happy New Year!
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Saundra
posted on January 3, 2012 at 10:04 pm
I’m not aware that I have any egg allergies, but am curious about eggs since I’m still having some allergy issues and I don’t know where they are coming from! I always buy cage free eggs; but many of them state that the chickens were grain fed. Could that transfer through to the eggs? I was “cleared” of any problems with eggs and chicken several years ago when I did the NAET protocol. So, now I am wondering if some of the eggs I am using could be causing “gluten” issues because of their feed.
This tart looks wonderful!! I love love pecan pie. At Thanksgiving I took a little bite as a cheat — that’s how much Iove it. Can’t wait to try this. Thanks Amy! Happy New Year!
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Katherine
posted on October 24, 2012 at 5:03 pm
I really want to make this. Can I substitute any other flours for the teff flour or would it make a big difference?
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Amy Reply:
November 7th, 2012 at 11:46 pm
@Katherine, I think teff is the way to go here. But you can play around and see what happens.
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